You Have to Move
by Wolf of the Light
Summary: Drinking wasn't the best way to start out the night. Dawn found that out, so she headed home early. But almost being hit by a car, a lone voice saved her and a baby Skitty's life. Ikarishipping/Contestshipping/OldRivalshipping/Pokeshipping


**A/N**: I just got bored one day, so I just started writing. No idea what it really is though lol

Now, I checked for the legal age for drinking and purchase of alcohol, and my findings were that my story does not correspond to the laws in Japan concerning drinking. So ... Yeah, just ignore the fact that they're still in high school and it begins in a bar. I do not condone underage drinking, no matter what you read as you scroll down this page. On to the story.

* * *

><p>"Ash, get down from there!"<p>

Ash ignored Misty's pleas, continuing to wave his arms around, shaking his hips to a beat playing in his head as he danced on a table in the middle of the bar. Misty continued to tug at his pant leg, trying her best to keep people from cheering him on. To add to the embarrassment, he started trying to get her to join him on the tabletop. She kept trying to resist, but he overpowered her, even in his drunken state, pulling her up on to the table beside him.

Dawn sat at the bar, ignoring Misty's protests while Ash spun her in his arms. Tapping the bar top with her slender fingers, Dawn looked at her watch, sighing. She hopped off the bar stool, calling a goodbye over her shoulder to the bartender as she headed toward the door. Managing to stop May's make-out session with Drew she said goodbye to her friend, calling another farewell to Misty as she continued to try and pull away from Ash. Dawn sighed again as she opened the bar door, the ringing of the bell above the door echoing as she headed out into the lit streets, dreading the long walk home to the hotel she was staying in with Misty and May on their vacation with the guys. Well, Ash, and Drew as far as Dawn knew, she had no idea if Paul was even staying in the hotel with them, let alone come with the boys. They'd left Leaf and Gary to catch up in a few days.

As she got farther down the street, the gap between each light grew greater, causing her to get edgy each time she walked out from under the light's protective yellow ray. There were few cars that drove by her, their glaring headlights only a flash as they sped past her. She could hear the sound of a cat fight in the alleys behind her, a trash can lid clanging to the ground as a Skitty darted out in front of her into the road. Dawn knew she should leave the Kitten Pokemon alone, but it looked so precious with its pretty pink fur and cream muzzle, so she took a tentative step out onto the street, holding her hand out to the pink feline, cooing, "Here kitty kitty. Come 'ere sweetie."

The Skitty looked at her with slitted eyes. It gave a tentative meow, a little too high-pitched to belong to a male, taking a small step toward Dawn, stretching her head out to smell her fingers, then moving close enough to butt her head against her hand, asking to be pet. Dawn smiled and scratched the cat behind the ears, listening as its purr resonated from the small cat's chest. She wrapped her way around Dawn's legs, almost causing her to fall over while she laughed. But her laugh was short lived, because just then a car rounded the corner at a high speed, heading straight for Dawn and the cat, both frozen in the headlights like deer.

"You stupid girl, move!"

The voice came out of nowhere, but it snapped Dawn back to attention, causing her to scoop the Skitty into her arms and manage to stumble out of the car's path just as it sped by. The driver had probably never even seen them, either too drunk to care or they purposely tried to run her over, which didn't seem very logical since she didn't have any enemies. That she knew of anyway.

_Hmm, it could have been Harley,_ she thought as she petted the frightened cat, cooing as she rubbed the tuft of fur on her ears between her fingertips. _But I don't think he would actually try to kill me. I mean, unless Soledad did something to make him mad enough._ Dawn looked around, hoping to see who had managed to snap her out of her frozen state before she became a pancake on the pavement, but all she saw were the shadowy sidewalks of the sleepy town. She stood, her legs still a little wobbly, and started on her way toward the hotel again, her new companion curled in her arms, already purring sleepily. There seemed to be a scuffing sound behind her, but she just put it off as some more cat Pokemon fighting in the alley.

* * *

><p>Paul stepped out from the shadow filled alley, watching as Dawn made her way down the wide sidewalk. He hadn't known what he had been thinking, yelling out at her, but he couldn't just let her get run over. He'd feel guilty about it later if he hadn't managed to get her back to her senses to get out of the road in time. One thing he saw as she walked down the sidewalk, before Paul could pull his eyes from her, was how her hips swayed with each step she took, especially in the skirt she was wearing. Heat crept up his neck as his face turned a dark shade of red. He mentally chastised himself as he forced his feet to move forward.<p>

* * *

><p>"Dawn? Hellooo?"<p>

Dawn covered her head with her pillow, trying to block out Misty's voice as she tried to go back to sleep. But that was ruined when something cold and wet was thrown on her. She screamed as she jumped out of bed, her pink flannel pajamas soaked with icy water. She glared at May who was holding the empty cup, grinning.

"You got me soaked, May!" Dawn cried. When she looked back at her bed, she just about snatched the cup from May and poured what was left in it over May's head. "You got Skitty wet!" She scooped the poor shivering kitten into her arms, glaring daggers at May, who gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry. I didn't know she was sleeping with you." Dawn had called May on her way to the hotel, telling the older girl how she'd almost gotten ran over and had rescued a kitten in the process. "We got in late last night because we had to drag Ash back to his room since he'd obviously had too much to drink. He also wouldn't get off the table unless Misty kissed him."

Misty's face flushed while Dawn's eyes widened in surprise. "Did she do it?"

"Like bloody hell I would!" Misty cried, covering her face. "I hit him so hard in the head he fell off the table. He wasn't hurt, but he passed out from all the alcohol he'd had. Jeez, I can't believe he actually tried that." Looking through her fingers, she glared at May. "Little Miss Make-Out over here was no help whatsoever. She just sat there sucking face with Drew the entire time."

Now May turned bright red. "Shut up Misty! Man …" she grumbled as she sank on to her bed that sat across from Dawn's. They'd decided to get a not-so-big room with two beds, Dawn and May on the beds, Misty on the couch. This way they each got their own space to sleep on. "We only started going out last month, we're still in that happy-go-lucky stage. Give us a few more weeks and it'll calm down."

"Promise?"

"No gaurentees." May grimaced at Misty's expression. "What! I can't control Drew, the boy has a mind of his own, one that I don't really understand, yet … it still fascinates me somehow …"

Dawn made a gagging noise as she went to go get a towel to dry off Skitty and herself after she took a much needed shower. The kitten Pokemon seemed to actually like water, as she had proved this just the night before when Dawn had decided to clean up before bed, and while she'd had the water running Skitty had jumped into the tub, swiping at the water spewing from the faucet with her small paw. Then she had licked the water from her freshly soaked foot and did it over and over again until Dawn had started the shower, causing the kitten to hop around as little pellets of water rained down on her.

As Dawn rubbed her hair down with a towel, stripped of her wet pajamas, she looked around on the floor. "Hey, have you guys seen my shirt? I took it off last night before I got in bed."

May plopped down on her bed, kicking her feet up on the nightstand next to it. "Nope. Maybe you should put it in the hamper you brought so you won't lose your clothes." She held out a hand toward Skitty who sniffed her fingertips, turned her head, and scampered over to Misty. She jumped into her lap, rubbing against her, purring. May grimaced while Misty just looked confused.

"Uh, I've never touched a cat Pokemon, so what do I do? How do I know I'm not allergic to her?" Misty asked, clearly panicking.

May and Dawn busted out laughing as Misty's hands reached for Skitty, then inched back. She looked so vulnerable for once, worrying over the little pink feline, mewling for attention. But when May noticed Dawn after she took the towel off, she covered her eyes, saying, "Dawn, can you at least pull something on? You walking around in your bra and underwear isn't as appealing to me as it might to Paul."

Dawn blushed and blurted, "That's so not funny May!" while covering herself with the towel again and retreating back into the bathroom, slamming the door. "Misty, can you get me the yellow sundress I bought at the mall the other day? Since May can't obviously stand the sight of a girl in her underwear!"

Misty grinned, stifling a laugh as she reached for one of the many shopping bags next to Dawn's bed. Skitty didn't seem to like this so she jumped down, landing on Dawn's bed and scratching behind her ear with her hind leg, falling over in a pile of fur. "Which bag is it in?" she called to Dawn.

Behind the bathroom door, Dawn was finger-combing her damp hair. But, seeing it was hopeless, just left it alone. "It should be in the Macy's bag. It's the one with the white straps that criss-cross in the back."

"You mean the one with the flower design on the skirt?"

"Yeah, that one." Dawn leaned close to the mirror, squinting her eyes as she stared at her creamy smooth face reflecting back at her. She ran a hand down her cheek, checking for any pimples that might start showing up soon without her notice. Satisfied, she moved away from the mirror when Misty knocked on the door, opening it to take the dress from her. "Thanks Misty."

"No problem."

Dawn pulled the dress over her head, making sure that the chest area fit right around her small frame. She wasn't flat chested, but she wasn't a size C-cup either. It seemed an okay fit, actually looking as if she had some curves, even with as little that she did have. She nodded in self-approval, opening the door in search of her lost hairbrush.

As she stepped back into the room she saw that Misty had left, and May had fallen back asleep on her bed, snoring away. Skitty wasn't too far away, napping on Dawn's bed with her tail wrapped around her. Dawn glared at May and she searched through her stuff to find her hairbrush.

She had managed to rummage through half the belongings that she had brought when there was a knock at the door. "Coming!" Dawn called, pulling stray articles of clothing from her head and shoulders. Hoping her hair wasn't as bad as she thought it was, she clambered to the door, unlocking it and opening it enough to peek out into the hall. Her jaw almost hit the floor.

It was Paul.

Dawn blinked in surprise. "P-Paul! What are you doing here?" She felt fur against her bare leg and she looked down to see Skitty trying to look outside the door. But she pushed her back with her foot.

Paul glanced at her and the cat briefly, then looked away. He held up a green bandana. "I believe this belongs to one of your friends?"

Dawn reached out and took the bandana, her eyes only briefly meeting his. She looked at her bare feet as she thanked him, Skitty starting to mewl helplessly around her ankles. He just nodded with a grunt, and walked away. Dawn watched as he walked down the hall to the stairs, and as she was closing the door behind her, softly, she could have sworn she saw him look over his shoulder.

* * *

><p>"Hey Dawn, where'd you find my bandana? I was looking for it <em>everywhere<em>, but I couldn't find it," May asked as she spun her fork in her spaghetti. They had decided to eat lunch at an Italian restaurant close by. "Did you have someone help or something?"

Dawn's face reddend. "Not really. Somebody else actually found it. I had nothing to do with it, they brought it to the room earlier."

"They?" Misty said as she slurped a noodle, marinara sauce gathering around her mouth. She took a napkin and wiped the sauce from her face, giving Dawn a pointed look. "Who's they? Are you not telling us something?"

Dawn looked down. "Uh, no, not really?" It sounded too much like a question that they immediately became suspicious.

"Dawn," May and Misty said in unision. "What's going on?"

Dawn tightened her hands in her lap and kept looking down. "Well … Paul came and gave it back-"

"What?" May all but screamed. She just about tumbled out of her chair as she stood up, her hands slamming onto the tabletop, causing the plates to rattle. "Paul's here? Why didn't you say so in the first place? Wait, was this after I fell asleep?"

Dawn nodded, continuing to look down at her hands.

"Ugh, I missed _everything_," May groaned as she sat back down. She rubbed her hands over her face, pushing her bangs back. She had been complaining about not having her bandana so much, yet she didn't even wear it, she'd just pulled a pair on of jeans and a T-shirt.

"Well, maybe the next time Ash gets drunk you can actually help so we can get in early. It took me like an hour just to get him down, no thanks to either of you," she said with a glare to the both of them. They sunk down in their seats under the piercing gaze of their red-headed friend. "But anyway, what happened after I left and May fell asleep?" Misty asked Dawn.

Dawn picked up her fork, drawing circles in her spaghetti. She just wanted to avoid the whole subject, even if nothing had really happened when Paul showed up at their hotel room. "Well, nothing. He just gave me the bandana, I thanked him, and he left."

"That's it?"

"Well, yeah. That's it."

"Boooring!" May said, leaning back in her chair, crossing her legs. "_Please_ tell me something else happened either after or in between."

Dawn glared at May as she brought her fork to her lips. She took a bite from the meatball she had speared with the utensil, chewing thoughtfully, knowing it would drive May mad.

When she found that her friend had had enough of her procrastination, she swallowed, licking the marinara sauce from her lips. "Nope."

"Ugh!" May cried, slapping her hands against her face in annoyance at her friend. "I can't believe this! _Nothing_ happened? Come on!" She groaned as she rubbed her sore cheeks.

Dawn sweat-dropped at her friend's childish behavior. "May," she said, setting down her silverware. "Nothing's going on between us, and nothing probably will. He just doesn't … feel that way about me."

"But how do you feel about him?"

Dawn and May looked at their friend blankly. "Wh-what?" Dawn stammered.

"I said, how do you feel about him?" Misty repeated. Acting like her question was nothing on the mind of the blunette, she twirled her fork in her spaghetti and lifted it to her mouth. Dawn just stared at her as she did so, befuddled as she attempted to create an answer in her blank head.

"Dawn?" Dawn looked over at her brunette friend, her cheeks still red from where she had slapped herself in the face in frustration. "Seriously, how do you feel about him? You'll never know if he feels the same way unless you admit your feelings first."

The blue-haired girl just stared down at her plate of spaghetti, her thoughts all jumbled together as she tried to think. Finally, she managed to stammer out an "I don't know," much to her friends' disdain. The two of them shook their heads and sighed.

"What?" she demanded.

"Dawn, if you can't admit your feelings now, how are you going to do it in the future when a guy asks you out?" May set her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands as she watched Dawn.

She just looked at her brunette friend. Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, Dawn was, yet again, speechless. Trying to avoid answering, she looked down at the table as she wrung her hands in her lap. "I - I don't know. B-but!" she said, raising her hands. "Let's not worry about that now, who knows when Leaf is supposed to get here with Gary? And how are we going to split the sleeping areas? I mean, we have two beds and a couch. Oh, wait - the couch is a pull-out! Maybe she can sleep with you, Misty." Dawn laughed nervously as she babbled uncontrollably, her hands moving as she talked.

This made Misty and May exchange a sad glance as Dawn prattled on, and they felt sorry for their friend. But they went on with her weak attempt at trying to change the conversation, instead talking about their friends and how much they were looking forward to the rest of the week together with the boys.

* * *

><p>Once they'd all had their full of spaghetti for the day, the girls paid and left for sight seeing through the town. Walking down the semi-deserted streets, the girls window shopped and people watched. Or "people surfed" as May called it.<p>

"I've always found it so rude to call it 'people watching', so I think it's a little more friendly, as you might say, to call it 'people surfing' instead. Do you see what I mean?" May would explain to her friends. But the term "people surfing" always made Dawn think of using a person as a surfboard to ride over the heads of passerbys as they tried to get through crowds.

The thought of this made Dawn sputter in laughter at the moment, just the idea of herself or Misty or May using a stranger to glide atop other strangers like they were a wave of water that carried them through the ocean, not human beings.

Dawn's laughing drew May and Misty's attention, and they looked at each other over her leaning form, both with questions in their eyes neither of them could answer. So instead, they asked Dawn, but all she could do was hold up a hand, begin to talk, then bust out laughing again before she could even get a word decided to give up after the third try, just letting her laugh as they walked down the sidewalk.

Her laughter died after they walked a few yards, her attention returning to the window displays as they made their ways down the blocks, people surfing the entire way.

"Oh, he's cute," they'd say when they saw a boy who would stand out from the crowd. "Ooh, look at him!" "Ha ha, look at that one's hair," "Oh man, did you see his shirt?"

This went on for a while as they walked through the town. The air between them was light until May said, "Hey, is that Paul?" and pointed to a building. Dawn and Misty looked to where she was pointing, their eyes widening when they saw it was true.

"Oh, jeez, hide me!" Dawn pulled Misty in front of her, trying to hide her small form behind the older girl.

"Not on your life, sweetheart," May grinned. Then she turned toward the building and called, "Paul! Hey, Paul!" at the top of her lungs while waving her hands above her head, trying to get his attention. When she managed to succeed, they all saw as he grimaced, then made his way slowly over to them.

"May, you're going to pay for this!" Dawn hissed as he got closer. She was still buzzing around the other two, panicking now that he was only a few feet away, a frown as plain as day on his face.

"What do you want?" he demanded as soon as he got within hearing range.

Dawn froze as soon as she heard him. Her feet stopped their frantic dance around a grinning May and a sighing Misty. As she tried not to make a fool out of herself even further, she slowly turned around, facing the older was no way to hide the shaking in her voice when she mumbled, "H-hi Paul."

He grunted in response "Troublesome."

This irked Dawn slightly, but she pushed her irritation down below the surface. Breathing deeply, she visibly lifted her shoulders as she filled her lungs with air and dropped them with a soft _whoosh_ as she let it out. Her friends relaxed when they saw her calm and collected instead of enraged and fuming over the boy's long-time nickname for the sapphire-haired teenager.

Feeling pity for her friend, Misty decided to step in. "So, Paul," she started, sweat dropping when he looked at her with an air of boredom surrounding him like a cloud of miasmic proportions. "Have you thought about taking up Ash's invitation to check out that club tonight with the rest of us?"

The boy's eyes slid from her to May to the silent Dawn who stared at her feet. His eyes lingering on her he said, "I've given little thought to it. But maybe."

Dawn's eyes snapped up at this, and when she found him watching her she looked away, her face burning in embarrassment when she realized he'd been staring at her unabashed. The boy seemed to have no shame with eyeballing her while her friends stood on either side of her, looking between the two with confused expressions on their faces.

"Come as you please," she muttered, keeping her eyes averted from the boy's stony gaze. "Come on you two," she continued, keeping her voice low. "Let's go see if we can go find some food for Skitty before tonight." Picking up her feet, she moved forward, brushing past Paul on her way. When her bare arm came into contact with his she felt a small jolt across her skin. She brought a hand up as she passed, ducking her even redder face in hopes that her dark blue hair would hide the blush flaring across her cheeks.

May and Misty stood where they were, confused beyond belief. They'd seen how she acted around the boy, but never like that. The two looked at each other with questioning glances, but both were soon startled back to attention when Paul said, with a glance over his shoulder, "Well if you're done wasting my time, I'll take my leave now." With that he spun on his heel and started to walk away. But after a few feet he realized that he was following the same direction that Dawn, who had stopped to lean against a light pole at the curb, had just started. Embarrassed, he whirled back around to march in the opposite direction, his face tilted down to conceal the humiliation.

As he walked off May and Misty stared after him. When they'd seen his little directional blunder, they had had to cover their mouths with their hands to stifle the giggles that just wanted to pour out at seeing Paul actually make a mistake. This was something they could so tease him with later, they were sure of that.

* * *

><p>"Party time, party time!"<p>

May skipped around their room, her hair already piled atop her head, whisps of it falling expertly around her face. Misty, who was still getting ready, laughed at her younger friend's exitement as she brushed her hair out in front of the bathroom mirror. "Hyper much May?" she said as she leaned into the room, her brush stroking out a steady rythm through her red hair.

"Blegh!" May said as she stuck her tongue out at the older trainer. "Don't hate just 'cause my outfit's cuter!" She smoothed a hand over her red plaid skirt, tugging on the white shirt and long black silky vest that hung to her waist, the bangles around her wrist jingling as they clinked together.

"I'm pretty sure any Scottish or Irish man would find you irresistable."

The brunette frowned. "Oh ha-ha, you are _so_ funny Misty."

The red head grinned. "It's what I'm here for." Returning the brush to the counter, she began to slide a hand through her hair, moving it around the top of her head and gathering hair to the side. Twisting it, she took some bobby pins and slid them in. Turning her head from side to side, she noted on the expertise it had taken her to perfect this style, a bun pinned just above and behind her temple. Leaving the rest down, she brushed a hand through it as she walked into the room, her dress swishing just above her knees as she did.

"God, Mist. I so envy your legs." Lightly kicking at the bed frame, May plopped down on her mattress. "I'm tall enough, but mine look horrible because I always wear boyish clothes. I mean," she quickly added when she saw Misty's expression, "yours just look so long, and mine ... well, just don't."

Seeming to find this sort of funny, Misty smiled at her friend. "May, you have nice legs. We all do."

May finally laughed. "Full of yourself much?"

A grin crossed the red head's features. "A girl must be proud of what she has, not envy another's possession."

May went to say something, but her retort died in her throat when Dawn walked in with Skitty trailing behind her. The younger girl had her hair pulled into a ponytail and was wearing her pajama bottoms with a tank top. Seeing this, May fell over crying, "The horror! Oh, the horror of it all!"

Dawn frowned at her friend's dramatics. "What?" She kicked off her sandals next to the door which sent Skitty tumbling over them in joy. She rolled around with the flip-flop for a few moments as Dawn walked over and collapsed onto her bed. Looking up at her friends she said, "Are you guys going out or something?"

The two just blinked at her. "What?" she asked defensively.

"Do you not remember us making plans for tonight or what?"

Dawn stared at May. Frowning, she began to think back to earlier that day. Vaguely remembered Misty and May rambling on to Paul about a club or something that they were going to check out that night, but she had been too zoned to have even heard them until she'd heard Paul say maybe. Biting her lower lip she looked back up at them,

letting out a weak "No?"

Sensing a disturbance in the air, Skitty looked up from her antics, her prey twisted beneath her. Her soft pink fur bristled at the sight of May and Misty's expressions. It was like they were demons out of hell, dark clouds were almost visibly emanting from the both of them. The black perceptible mists seemed to surge toward Dawn as she cowered against the wall.

"What do you mean no?" May bellowed as she glared at the younger girl. "You have to get ready or else you won't be ready to go!"

Dawn blinked her frightened eyes at the brunette. "B-but, what should I wear? Pants? A skirt?"

Misty snorted. "You wear enough skirts as is. Why don't you just wear a dress, I know you have some more in these bags of yours." She sorted through the multiple shopping bags still on the floor. Dawn could almost feel her irritation flowing off the red head, and when she glanced up Dawn looked away, afraid she would see sparks in the older girl's eyes. But when she mumbled an apology, Misty sighed and smiled a little as she searched.

"First things first, we need to do your hair." Tromping to and from the bathroom, May wielded a curling iron which frightened the poor blunette even more than their anger had. "Now," she said, grinning with mischief, "turn around."

Before May could force her she spun around, and, squeezing her eyes shut in apprehension, she sat still as stone as May set to work.

"Done!" May cried after a few minutes.

Dawn opened one eye tentatively, afraid that if she moved that May might still brandish the curling iron against her once again.

"Oh come on Dawn," the brunette said. "I'm not going to hurt you, nor did I while I was curling your hair." She seemed to have read Dawn's mind.

Looking to Misty as the older girl handed her a mirror, her eyes widened once she saw her reflection. Her hair had more volume, enough to where it looked fluffed, the ends curling slightly. But before she could even stare at herself in wonder for a minute she was bombarded with a sweet smelling mist about her head. She coughed at the sudden assault of hair spray as May moved about her blue locks, not ever bothering to tell Dawn to cover her eyes. "All right," she said when she was done. She checked to make sure the can was empty before tossing it into the trashcan. "Now you're really done."

Dawn glared at her friend. "You know, you could have at least warned me before you assaulted me with hair spray." There was a tickle in her throat that caused her to cough again. If Dawn didn't have self-control May would probably lose some of that pretty brown hair of hers.

But the girl just rolled her eyes at Dawn. "Oh come on," she said, her hands on her hips. "You're perfectly fine, all I had to get was the back of your hair. Speaking of hair." Striding over to her suitcase she crouched in front of it, unzipping it and flipping the top up and over onto the floor. She searched for a few moments, finally pulling out a small packet of bobby pins. "We need to pin those bangs of yours back or else nobody will see your pretty face."

This caused Dawn to blush. She did always seem to hide behind her long bangs, but she'd never considered cutting them until her friend made the comment then. May handed her the bobby pins and went back to getting ready, sitting on her bed and lacing up her combat boots. But as Dawn watched her while seperating her bangs to the side she seemed to change her mind. "You know what? You wear these."

"Wait, what?" Dawn stared at her.

"You heard me. These'll go good with the dress Misty found."

Looking down beside her, Dawn finally realized that there was a dress made from the softest fabric sitting next to her on the bed. What was next to it made her turn ever redder: fishnet stockings. She'd never really worn them, except once or twice when May or Misty had wanted to go to a party at a friend's house and they insisted she wear them to try them out. How she hated those parties. "Um, are you sure?"

"Of course. Have you ever doubted my sense of fashion?"

An image of a yellow T-shirt and orange shorts came to mind at that. But Dawn just shook it off, hoping she'd at least make it through the night without killing her best friend or making a fool out of herself when they went out. Oh how she was _so_ looking forward to this outing to make their bonds closer and attempt to make nice with the boys. Gag.

* * *

><p>"Oh my gosh Dawn, you look a-<em>mazing<em>!"

This was the first thing said to Dawn as she walked into the club with Misty and May flanking her on either side. The compliment from her third best friend made Dawn blush in embarrassment. "You're exaggerating Leaf."

The blue-eyed brunette just shook her head, a smile splayed across her face as she continued to praise her friend's outfit. After Dawn had finally managed to screw up enough courage to pull on the dress, fishnets, and boots, May had set to work on her make up, the older girl's eyes already covered with just the right about of eyeshadow and a thin line of eyeliner that Dawn could never have been able to aquire without poking herself in the eye in the process. As May had worked on her face, Misty had scrounged up a couple pairs of metal bracelets the blunette could wear as an added effect, even managing to find a choker she was glad she had packed. She succeeded to get all this on Dawn as May worked quickly on her. They were both ready. All that was left was Dawn.

"Okay, Leaf," Dawn laughed, set into giggles when Leaf had started to pretend fawning over Dawn in her dress that brushed the tops of her thighs, the fishnet stockings really bringing attention to her combat boot clad legs. "I get it now. The outfit they picked out for me is nice."

Leaf stuck her tongue out at Dawn. Even as the second oldest in the group at eighteen she acted like a child sometimes. If it weren't for that lipstick stain or whatever she had apparently used, the red around her perfect mouth would have been messed up. Out of the four of them though, she was the only one who wasn't wearing a skirt or dress. She'd instead worn a long sleeved off the shoulder top that was a light magenta with a banded top and empire waist. Ruching around her bust, it showed off how she had matured physically over the past few years of high school. The dark skinny jeans she wore also showed how curvy she had become, all the way down to her black heels, a pattern of cords wrapped around her feet in what looked like the twists of metal on a chain link fence. "I figured as much. So, which guy are you planning on hitting on tonight?"

Dawn gaped at her friend who just winked at her and laughed. "Leaf!" Dawn cried, mortified that Leaf had even suggested it. But the brunette just laughed as she skipped off into the crowd. Sighing as she turned around she said, "I think Leaf has finally lost it." But when she noticed she was talking to just air she became alarmed. Misty and May just seemed to have disappeared into the throng of people that surrounded them. Panic began to over take her as she spun around in circles, the beat of music pulsing around her as bodies moved about. There was a lump in her throat as she tried to swallow down her fear at suddenly being alone. But when she spotted the back of someone familiar, hope lit up her face as she struggled through the crowd.

As she got closer she could hear snippets of conversations around her: "Oh my God, do you see what she's _wearing_?" "Combat boots and fishnets, how tacky can you get?" Her face burned in embarrassment, making her feet pick up the pace as she tried to avoid stepping on stilleto and kitten heeled toes. One certain comment caused her to look back behind her. She caught sight of a girl with blond hair in a tight red dress with matching heels shooting daggers at her as she stumbled forward, crashing into the closest person.

"Hey, watch where you're -" The angry remark died in the person's throat when they saw Dawn. She held onto his jacket tightly in both hands as she looked behind her in the direction of the red clad blond, but she was gone, vanished into the mass of club goers. Sniffing back tears she looked up. When she saw the frown on his tanned face she had to look away and drop her hands, it was too embarrassing. "Dawn?"

She fiddled with the skirt of her dress, refusing to raise her eyes. This reminded her of earlier that afternoon, which just made her feel even more uncomfortable. Her feet knocked together, heels toes, heels toes, until the small clacking under the pounding of the vibrations was all she could feel. A flicker of color to her left made her glance up. It was the girl. Her eyes were still set into a glare, piercing blue, seen even with the dancing bodies between them. Dawn was frozen in place under her stare, trembling slightly. She knew what girls could do when spited, even though she had no idea what she'd done to deserve the girl's wrath.

Suddenly her view was blocked. She found herself staring at the black sleeve of Paul's jacket. "Paul?" Dawn sniffed.

He didn't answer her. He just kept his eyes on the blond. The girl had this odd look on her face, like she was surprised that Paul was protecting the blunette. Dawn was surprised herself. Never having seen him really defend anyone or anything, Paul was normally conceited and isolated, so this was a rare occasion he showed any form of caring. Or, well, just any feelings at all besides stubborn and rude.

The blond decided to give up, evident by the way she stuck her nose in the air and turned on her red stiletto heel to disappear into the crowd one last time. Even though there was motion all around them, it seemed almost like everything was still, bodies frozen in mid-dance as the music pulsed away. They stood there for a while, Paul in front of Dawn in almost a protective stance until he suddenly turned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her across the crowded dance floor to a vacated wall where he planted himself against the brick surface. He didn't look at Dawn or tell her to go, so she figured it was okay for her to stay.

As she leaned against the wall beside him, she snuck glances at him as he looked out over the crowd. His face was void of emotion as usual, but his jaw seemed clenched as if in anger or something, she wasn't sure. When he looked at her out of the corner of his eye she blushed furiously as she quickly turned her head in the other direction, hoping he hadn't seen her basically staring at him. But he showed no sign of having noticed, his attention turning back to stare blankly out at the crowd. He was apparantly back to ignoring her.

Time passed, the crowd on the floor thinning as it became later and later into the night, so much that Dawn started to nod off as she leaned against the wall. The beat of the music was slower now, not as loud as things began to cool off inside the club. It steadily started to lull her to sleep, her eyes straining to stay open against her drowsiness. But it got the best of her, her chin pressing against her chest, and falling slightly to the side against something warm. She didn't notice, not even when she heard her name being called through the fuzziness that was her brain.

A hand to her forehead caused her to open her eyes slightly, seeing the color blue and purple. In the back of her mind, she realized she was on the floor, the cold brick pressing against her back and legs, then she was in the air. It felt like flying, one of her arms hanging to the side, the other thrown across her chest haphazardly, like it was an after thought.

She started to drift, thinking of Skitty in her hotel room, her mom at home in bed. But her mind began to clear a little when she felt the cold wind that blew as whoever was carrying her made it outside. She lifted her arm to cover her face, but found that something soft was covering her upper body. It was Paul's jacket.

The wind kept blowing, causing her to bury even further into the jacket, but it was so hot, even under the yielding fabric. It felt like she couldn't breathe, almost like she was suffocating in the protection of … Dawn didn't even know who was carrying her. The curiosity was starting to get to her, even through the heat she could feel taking over. So she pulled back the jacket and exposed her face to the cool air again, telling herself she was doing it because she couldn't breathe and needed to clear her head.

Her vision was a little cloudy at first, but as she blinked her eyes it cleared some, enough to where she could see the face of the one hauling her away from the club. Dawn would never forget the sharp angles of his face, the tanned skin, the dark eyes.

She closed her eyes again, satisfied with herself. Dawn may have been becoming sick, but at least a cute guy was carrying her to her hotel. She hoped.

* * *

><p>"<em>Where am I?"<em>

_Dawn looked around, surveying her surroundings. She took a step forward, her feet sinking into ankle deep snow. The wind was blowing hard around her and it stirred up drifts of slush and flew about on the wind. Flakes drifted against her face in a soft carress, making her shiver._

"_Hello?" she called, her voice echoing in the emptiness around her. This was all so unsettling for her. She didn't like the cold or wet. She especially hated being alone. "Is anybody there?"_

_Against the white she saw a flash of color, like someone running and disappearing with the wind. The idea of staying where she was was probably the best, but being alone in the cold just wasn't inviting to her. So she stepped on._

_It was hard walking against the harsh wind that whipped at her cheeks as she made her way across the deserted tundra. Flurries flew around her in their secret dance, whispering silently in her ears. Her feet had gone numb long ago in the frost. Teeth chattering with cold, she closed her eyes as she tried to press on, but her feet became too heavy to move. They stopped where she stood, refusing to go on. So she fell to her knees and her hands dug into the snow. This was it, she couldn't -_

_There was a crunch in front of her. She looked to see shoes buried in the snow, dark against the stark white. Lifting her head, she saw a somber jacket, hands in pockets of dark jeans. Further up, she finally saw the person's face, hair flying around in the wind. As soon as she saw the eyes, she knew exactly -_

Dawn blinked her eyes awake. She stared blankly up at the ceiling for a moment, realizing she was in the hotel room she was sharing with Misty, May, and now Leaf, if she remembered correctly.

So it was all a dream? The snow had felt so real, and her fever seemed to have cooled as she slept. Something was on her forehead, and when she reached up she found it was a damp washcloth, soaked with either sweat or water she didn't know. What she did was that her back from killing her after laying on the bed without moving.

As she tried to sit up, she heard movement over on May's bed. The brunette sat up rubbing her eyes as she searched the room. When her eyes finally landed on her they lit up, setting her to scrambling from under the covers and over to her. Leaf, who had apparently been bunking with May for the night, rose slowly as she sat up on her knees, looking around blearily.

"Oh my gosh, Dawn, are you okay?" May was almost hystarical as she crouched on the floor beside her friend's bed. "When we were at the club last night and were in that crowd, it was so easy to lose you that as soon I turned around you were gone!" Dawn remembered vaguely that this was what had happened to her, and she wondered if May even knew that. But her brunette friend continued on, almost in tears because she was she was so sorry. "Oh Dawn, please say you forgive me!"

But all the blunette could really do was rub her eyes and yawn. After a few moments to herself she could speak again. "It's okay, May. But there's just one thing I don't get. What happened?"

Here May bit her lip, and this moment of hesitation gave Dawn the chance to see Misty and Leaf starting to wake up on the other side of the room. They both moved sluggishly, like sleep still had its hold on the two. But Dawn's eyes flicked back to May as she seemed to create some sort of answer. "Well, I - we - think that that night you walked here from the bar with Rosy, you might've caught something. I mean, it _was_ kind of chilly out, right?"

Dawn had to admit there was some truth in what her friend was saying. There had been goosebumps on her arms while she had carried Rosy down the dark street the other night, her feet going cold in the wind. She guessed it wasn't a good idea to wear sandals when it was late in the spring, even though it was supposed to be warming up soon. But she started thinking about other things, important ones. Like where was Rosy?

As if she had been called, Rosy jumped onto May's head, almost knocking the girl over. Just the appearance of the pink feline made Dawn feel so much better, and she reached out to pick the kitty off her friend's head. Rosy gave a happy meow as Dawn cuddled with the fuzzball. Sitting back with Rosy in her lap, Dawn looked to May one more time.

"Right. Um, well, okay we don't really know why you collapsed in the club last night." May sighed and pushed her hair back. "Things just got so confusing last night we didn't even get the chance to see if you were really okay until we managed to catch up with Paul. Man, that boy can walk fast."

_So it _was_ Paul_, Dawn thought. That face, jacket, and hair were unmistakable to her. You could set him somewhere deep in a crowd of people and she'd still be able to find him, she was _that_ finely tuned to his presence. So much so that it scared her sometimes. "So basically, I became mysteriously sick and was carried here by Paul from the club. Where was Ash, Gary, and Drew the entire time? You'd think they would have kept him preoccupied while he spent his time there."

Misty rolled her eyes at this as she steadily began the process of waking up. "They were together the entire time as far as we knew. But they said that Paul had disappeared after a few minutes of getting there. Guess he had decided to be a wallflower for a while, huh?"

A block in her thoughts was apparentally what they were trying to put in Dawn's head. She couldn't really think of any reasons why he would stay with those three idiotic boys, but they were his friends - as far as they knew - and it was hard to imagine him not really being around somewhere with the three of them, it was just so hard to think about. But Paul's choice of friends wasn't really her main concern right now. What was, was why she had suddenly collapsed in the club like that, it was such a mystery that it stumped the blunette.

"Um, Dawn?"

The girl looked up from her thinking to see May with a slightly concerned expression on her face. "Yes, May?"

May looked away for a moment, her attention turned to Misty and Leaf as they began to get dressed for the day. "Never mind. It's nothing important."

Hearing this made Dawn frown, lines marring her pretty face. "Are you sure?" she asked as she ran a hand over Rosy's head, a loud purr ensuing each stroke. This cat could really make a big sound if she wanted.

Her response was a nod, then May preceded to stand, joining the other two girls in dressing. Dawn just shrugged her shoulders and sat up, her shoulders feeling sore from being still for so long. Rolling around in their sockets as she stood, Rosy jumped to the floor as Dawn began to get dressed as well. This was going to be an interesting day, she just knew it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Hmm ... I have no idea what the outcome of this one shall be lol This chapter, I don't even know why I'm writing this. I think my life is so boring I have too much time for my fanfictions and drawing pictures xD I think that by writing this, I let out a lot of tension that's been building up this summer lol


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